OFF-GRID CABINS OF THE TRAVEL FUTURE: LIFE+LEISURE

The yearning to get off grid – if only for a weekend – has intensified, writes Nina Karnikowski.

When builder Dave Wilkinson and his wife were travelling along Australia’s east coast in 2017, they were frustrated at not being able to find the kind of cute minimalist wilderness cabins they had seen popping up in the United States and Japan on their Instagram feeds.

Recognising a gap in the market, they decided to create their own. They moved from Sydney to Byron Bay, and in 2018 leased a lush hilltop with 360-degree views over the forest to the sea and built a bespoke wooden, tiny home attached to a bell tent for guests to rent in the rambling Byron hinterland.

‘‘When I first told friends what we were doing the reaction was mostly, ‘are you mad?’,’’ says Wilkinson, 33, explaining their concerns about how it would all work, not to mention the general lack of a market at that time. ‘‘The idea of leasing non-arable land from farmers, a concept called ‘land hacking’, for this kind of thing was pretty much a foreign concept back then, but it was the only way we could give guests access to that sense of space and real adventure we hadn’t been able to find while we were travelling.’’

Wilkinson’s mates needn’t have worried. Since launching, Salty Cabins Camp has enjoyed 97 per cent occupancy rates (notwithstanding COVID-19 lockdowns).

This year, he and his business partner, builder Ben Elias, designed, built and launched a bespoke off-grid cabin on the same land. They plan to launch a new stay every six months around the Byron Bay region.

They’re not alone in growing their tiny footprint. Over the past five years, compact cabin-style accommodation has become big business, with half a dozen Australian companies now offering remote, cabin-style stays.

This will be ramped up post-COVID-19, catering to the stronger-than-ever desire of people to get out beyond the city walls to enjoy down-time spent closer to nature and without fences.

One of the earliest players was Sydney-

based Unyoked, founded in 2016 by twin brothers Chris and Cam Grant. Unyoked grew from seven to 27 cabins last financial year, thanks to a $2 million investment round; the brothers now operate 31 cabins on rented bushland surrounding Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Byron Bay and Canberra.

Rather than defining themselves as a ‘‘cabin company’’ or ‘‘tiny house company’’, the Grant brothers call themselves a ‘‘nature company’’. ‘‘Since the beginning, our cabins have been designed intentionally and our locations handpicked to help facilitate a feeling of being immersed in nature, while being only two hours from your home or office,’’ says Cam Grant.

The common thread is the desire to give harried humans the chance to push the rest and reconnect button with minimum fuss.

Their approach is working. With an average 93 per cent occupancy since launch, Unyoked is raising more investment to grow to 100 cabins by the end of this year. The brothers say once they have achieved that, they will be targeting annual revenues of $25 million.

‘‘Since our aim is to help people access the benefits of nature more easily and more often, and since we’re always booked out, we’re going to keep growing to help people access nature when they need it most, rather than having to book ahead,’’ says Grant.

Numerous companies with similar offerings have emerged in Australia in recent years, each with their own specific designs. There’s In2TheWild, with 34 off- grid cabins on farms, vineyards and bushland across Australia, and CABN, offering nine minimally designed tiny houses on leased land in South Australia and Victoria, including its larger and more luxurious CABN X.

Tiny Away has 80 sustainably built tiny houses listed on its website (and on Airbnb and booking.com to increase its reach), while Shacky crowdfunded its first micro- shack. It now has three architectural tiny cabins in Victoria’s Grampians, Yarra Valley and High Country regions.

Or you might like to go bespoke and head to the recently opened Farmer’s Hut on Wilga Station, a third-generation sheep farm run by the Keith family near Bathurst in central western NSW.

Regardless of the business plan, the common thread running through these micro-stay companies is the desire to give harried humans the chance to push the rest and reconnect button with minimum fuss.

This genre of accommodation is also heavily influenced by a similar minimalist Scandinavian and Japanese design aesthetic. And, like their European and Asian counterparts, most Australian tiny home operators offer a commitment to lowering the environmental footprint through the use of solar power and rainwater, and even reforesting efforts or other environmental projects.

Guests are encouraged to swap Wi-Fi for stargazing and to spend as much time as possible outside, doing all the hands-on things they might do on a camping trip, from cooking on a camp stove to bushwalking and making open fires.

On the flip side, all the expected comforts such as hot showers, toilets (usually composting but the high-end versions), pure

linen sheets on queen- or king-sized beds, ceramic crockery and all-organic toiletries are in place to delight the discerning traveller.

Sparkling wine and cheese and charcuterie boards (or a vegan option) on arrival are de rigueur.

Some tiny stays also offer hot outdoor baths, along with pot-belly fires, rain showers and even saunas.

Partnering with land hosts is another common trait, with the leasing of land making these businesses much easier to finance, and allowing landowners to generate passive income from their properties.

‘‘We’re like modern farmers, but rather than running cattle and growing crops, we’re regenerating and unlocking unused parcels of land with our cabins,’’ says Wilkinson.

‘‘And we’re creating an alternative to bland concrete hotels and introducing guests to a more sustainable way of life along the way.’’

The proliferation of these businesses, says Grant, is a sign that ‘‘the conventional approach to modern life isn’t making us happy’’.

Recognising the scientifically proven benefits of nature for our physical and mental health – from reducing cortisol levels to boosting cognitive performance and creative thinking and problem-solving – Unyoked focuses on helping professionals get the nature hit they need to function at their best.

‘‘We call it an ‘ancient remedy for modern times’,’’ says Grant. ‘‘We want people to think of nature in the same way you’d think of training for a sporting event or going to a masseuse if you’ve pulled something.

‘‘If you’re preparing for a big project sprint at work, go to nature for two days before and get into your flow.’’

Like all hospitality operators over the past 18 months, cabin businesses have taken a COVID-19 hit.

As a way of ensuring business continues regardless of lockdowns (or, indeed, environmental disasters), Salty Cabins is selling flat-pack, customable A-frame cabins at $12,195 apiece, for use as a weekender, guest room, studio or storage.

‘‘We want our guests to be able to live the cabin life at home, and the A-frames are our way of helping them do that,’’ says Wilkinson. ‘‘Because ideally, this isn’t a one- off experience, it’s the beginning of a commitment to a simpler life.’’

THIS STORY FIRST appeared in print and online here